Trimming 3 weeks into flower

OceanicBud

OceanicBud

Well-Known Member
Hello green-thumbs and fellow horticulturists alike.

Is anyone able to tell me why the magical number for major defoliation in flower is 3 weeks in?

I understand first week would not be ideal as they adjust to new light schedule and new nutrient regime but why not after week 1 or 2 of flower?

Could it be as many like to mass defoliate a week or so before the flip to 12/12 therefore let them bush out for 4ish weeks?

Guidance appreciated.

OB
 
Good evening @OceanicBud

I’m not a huge defoliation fan but if I had to guess

The first couple weeks of flower the Plant is using tons of energy growing rapidly and producing fruit. After the stretch is done defoliation can be done so the plant focuses more on producing flowers instead of keeping fan leaves alive.

Again just a guess I don’t defoliant except to expose bud sites.

silver
 
OceanicBud said:
Hello green-thumbs and fellow horticulturists alike.

Is anyone able to tell me why the magical number for major defoliation in flower is 3 weeks in?

I understand first week would not be ideal as they adjust to new light schedule and new nutrient regime but why not after week 1 or 2 of flower?

Could it be as many like to mass defoliate a week or so before the flip to 12/12 therefore let them bush out for 4ish weeks?

Guidance appreciated.

OB
Click to expand...

Hi @OceanicBud , that's a great question!

There are different growing styles for different people - and defoliation can have many different opinions.

I personally do a major defoliation 1 week before flipping to flower - 1 week is time enough for the plant to heal. That is, I lollypop the bottom 1/3 of the plant and do my last toppings/fimmings. This drives energy up to the top 2/3 of the plant where it is needed. And with LEDs, the plant canopy gets thick and doesn't let much light into the bottom 1/3 of the plant.

We do topping and lollypopping in veg so that the plant has time to recover before going into flower.

As soon as you flip to 12-12, then the plant starts a vigorous vertical growth up top and root growth below.

Then, after 1 week we see pistils and by 4 weeks we have buds. At the 4 week flowering mark the plant is done growing and just bulks up the buds.

You can see why we don't want to stress the plant at any time after flipping to 12-12 - we don't want to stunt critical flower growth - the plant just can't recover like it does in veg.

Stress in flower can mean decreased yield and quality - high stress in flower can lead to hermies.

It's important to understand just how critical fan leaves are too. They are factories for photosynthesis, they help regulate oxygen/carbon dioxide transpiration and temperature. More fan leaves equals bigger buds and more dense buds - and of course, more THC/CBD.

During flower, we want to expose buds to as much light and air as possible. Fans and the lollypopping in the lower 1/3 of the plant help with air. Selectively removing any big fan leaves blocking light to buds help with light penetration. Usually I will take a handful of fan leaves every week for the first 4 weeks of flower - again, as few as possible.

As a good rule of thumb, we let the plant bush out in veg - fill the tent wall-to-wall with a flat top canopy - then flip and let the plant grow upwards.

I hope this helps - and not to offend anyone, but I think major defoliation in flower is old school and may have been debunked by now.

Let me see if I can find some good articles on this topic.
 
DrCannaCanadian said:
You can see why we don't want to stress the plant at any time after flipping to 12-12 - we don't want to stunt critical flower growth - the plant just can't recover like it does in veg.
Click to expand...

Hey thanks for the great intel and experience Dr Canna Canadiian. I suppose I had read elsewhere if others who may trim just a little amount each day over the 3 weeks into flower, as opposed to giving them an aggressive major defoliation that could also present significant stress on the maturing plants.
 
I do both... I do my major clean up of the lower third of the plants just to get rid of all the smaller growth that is not going to reach the canopy and the good light, and I do this major cleanup the last week of veg. I believe that while in veg the plant can adapt to anything we do to it, without stress.... but once we get into bloom, the plant is not nearly as tolerant and the plant begins to react to stress, instead of adapting to it.
The only magic number about 3 weeks into bloom is that the plant still has not hit full bloom by then, and it is still adapting. During this time I will still trim a few leaves here and there, no more than a few per day, just cleaning out the center of the plants so better light and air flow can be achieved. After that 3 week point, I am very very reluctant to mess with the plant without very good reason, for a stressed out plant in bloom's prime directive tells it to hermie if it thinks that something is affecting its ability to produce flowers.
 
Emilya said:
I do both... I do my major clean up of the lower third of the plants just to get rid of all the smaller growth that is not going to reach the canopy and the good light >/> The only magic number about 3 weeks into bloom is that the plant still has not hit full bloom by then, and it is still adapting.
Click to expand...

Well said, I'm thinking this "3 weeks in" is also the end range for some people to take clones. I do take mine about a week into flower so I can buy time for my perpetual cycling to align properly ensuring the flower tent is free, clean and systems sterile.
 
Some defoliate (heavy) just before 12/12 flip as for nutrient use ( this allows as much light as possible to flower sites)
Week 1 -- use veg nutrients
week 2 --- use 1/2 veg and 1/2 flower nutes
week 3 flower nutes
Some defoliate in week 4 of flower is another way to go (basically remove fan leaves)
 
safeman said:
Week 1 -- use veg nutrients
week 2 --- use 1/2 veg and 1/2 flower nutes
week 3 flower nutes
Click to expand...

I think I'd read that somewhere, so some transitional overlap with nutes on the basis it won't shock the roots expectations of what it's uptaking ?
Kind of like when my wife goes to share my glass of coke, only to realize it's a whiskey mix and the tongue just wasn't expecting the latter, haha.
 
you are right - look at the plant "streach" period when a plant get's 2-3x's its size ( which happen in transition/pre-flower stage). veg for growth . -- then flower nute's are just for terpene and essential oil production Many use the NO - "N" (nitrogen)- in flower and consentrate on just those big flowers !!!!!!!!!!!
 
I have defold before the flip then twice after and would consider the one I did about 30 days into 12/12 to be major . I posted a quick snap shot (about 40 pics) of one of my test subjects at the original posters request in regards to training in such HERE with some a little input on defoliation at the end if you would like to take a look .

There is also a thread around here where it was a good debate with a lot of info ,,if I come across it I will post a link ..you could also try searching and use my handle and the term defoliation ..I will say the title didn't say defoliation .
 
Another method is to do a "heavy" defoliation in wk 4 of veg and in wk 4 in flower (fan leaf removal) and weeks after remove only leaves that block the light. You will find a method/way that works for you. After a heavy defoliation consider feeding to help with stress
 
safeman said:
Another method is to do a "heavy" defoliation in wk 4 of veg and in wk 4 in flower (fan leaf removal) and weeks after remove only leaves that block the light. You will find a method/way that works for you. After a heavy defoliation consider feeding to help with stress
Click to expand...
My secret sauce for destressing is a foliar spray that consists of Epsom salt and superthrive I use it everytime I defol or train lst/supercropping and they bounce back like nobodies business !!!
 
My inexperienced view...I compromised my first grow yield with a multi-front failure...1) starved my plants in veg...soil was all I needed...wrong. My ph was off initially for soil...some good folks here moved me closer to 6.5. I did LST and scrog...latter not needed due to good LST..restricted plant access...and was then convinced I needed to lollipop below the scrog...stressed the hell out of my plants. Some intervention the past two weeks balancing between all the good forum feedback and my under-informed common sense. Next grow will be same basic set up but Zero defoliation except to expose bud sites and for airflow. I dont know what and if I yield anything from my first grow but will try for at least 2x next grow when I apply what ive learned.
 

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